Week 21: Quiero Cuatro quesadillas al Dia

hey guys!

Well this week was pretty good!  It hasnt been hot like at all. Its been cloudy and raining some days. Well probabaly hot for you guys but im used to it now! haha

(The 4 of us missionaries in our ward, that we got a ride in the back of a members truck. From the ward to our house is about 20 minutes. It was fun chilling back there on the highway!)

Not much has happened this week. A lot of walking like usual. All of you guys say that i look so skinny and a twig! if thats true then i dont know why i still have a gut like i always have had! Dont worry im eating just not as much as back home!

I´ve been making quesidillas every morning and at night! I have 4 in the morning and 4 at night! haha and i eat a ton at the comidas. I guess its just because i sweat a ton and walk a ton! Like yesterday after church at the comida we had these tostadas. which are these like chip thing on the bottom and then chicken and gaucamole, lettice, and queso. Holy crap they were so good! The hermana had 3 my comp. had 6 and i ate 11! haha so dont worry i eat.

On a bit of a spiritual note. The herama Nora we have been working on is progressing more! Friday we taught her the 10 commandments and tried to help her with her doubts and questions about everything. It was good. She didnt know that having a the virgin mary is against the 10 commandments. Then we tried to help her realize that the dream she had about us awhile ago was her answer to her prayers. She tolds us well yeah i think it was an answer to my prayers and i felt good all that day and happy and at peace but i still want something more. Oh gosh. My comp and i are trying to help her with that. But she doesnt know what she is looking for. she just wants to feel more sure that this is right. Its frusterating but she has come far from the beginning when she tolds us she doesnt want anything to do with our church. that only she wants to know why her son is on a mission. SO thats good!

Right now my comp and I are trying to make this area better. somehow we need more people to teach. Because we go around and visit the same families. THis area hasnt been good since 2006 or something like that. haha so we are praying for help!

Dad that picture that you sent me of the guys oneis hahahaha oh my gosh thats freaking hilarious! That guy doesnt look like me though ahah

Michael is looking freaking strong! and thats awesome that he can throw even harder than he has before!

this week i got 9 letters! 4 letters from kaite and a letter from wendi and brandon and then some other dear elders from before chrsitmas! haha i guess the sent them here while i was in the mtc.

Other than that im doing good! The spanish is getting better each day. Im LOVING spanish now haha its fun speaking and talking with the other elders in our zona. I have about 8 pesos left of my 1400 so im pretty much broke..until wednesday when i get 1400 more pesos.  

Oh and we are going to the beach next monday!!!! Im excited we´re going to play volleyball and throw the football and check it all out. So im excited to go to the playa!! 

I love you guys so much! Keep doing whats right!

Love

david


Email Elder David McNamara at: David.McNamara@myldsmail.net

Week 20: USANA: It's in Mexico Too.

Hey guys!

Well this week was good. I didn't poop my brains out, my poop is normal for now haha okay sorry about that.  Mom i never got a email from you this week. I guess your somewhere for you are brads one year. Thats okay though. Im happy for you guys. 

Well this week we taught both of our investigators.  The first one her name is Rosa and we have taught her 3 times now and this past time we finally set a date for her baptism for the 8th of june. So heres the story of how it went. We decided to teach lesson 3 which is the gospel of jesus christ. 

SO we get teaching and then i start teaching her about the gift of the holy ghost and how we recieve it after we get baptized. Then for some reason i dont know why she stopped me and started telling us about her past.  She tried to say something but couldn't because she was about to cry.  Then she started to explain to us how her husband out of no where left her and wanted a divorce. Then she said how she had no idea why and what happened. she thought that their marriage was good and happy but about a month ago after 20 years together he left her. She started crying and everyone was silent. 

As i was listening to her story i was thinking about how she was prepared to hear the gospel and how she was prepare for my comp. and I. after it was silent for a minute or so i felt like i should tell her how you guys are seperated, mom and dad. and how hard it was for me. I started crying a little bit with rosa. But i told her that heavenly father loves her and wants to help her and how prayer can help her a ton in her life. That how prayer has helped me when i was having a hard time with you guys not being together and i promised her that everything will be okay. After i said that i couldnt believe how that we were the ones that are supposed to teach this women. Im fully convienced that im supposed to be here in tampico mexico! Its so awesome. So she has a date for the 8th of june.

Then we taught our other investigator Nora. Shes the one who has a son out on the mission. She is a lot more difficult as an investigator haha shes progressing but very very very slowly. We had to change her date for baptism to the 8th of june to because she still isnt ready. But we learned some new things about her from member who always drove her son to church and was petty much a 2nd dad to him. 

He told us about how Nora's husband is a bad husband. he said a different word in spanish which means something really bad haha but he was telling us how he had different women that he was with like every weekend. And his wife, nora, knew about it. But at the time she had cancer and was dealing with all that health problems. The doctors we're telling them that she was probably going to die in a few years. And all of this was really hard on her son who is on the mission right now. 

When i heard that everything made since of why shes the way she is. The men down here, well most of the men, are complete losers. and horrible husbands. Its sad to see the wifes who do nothing because they cant do anything because thier husbands are men. that the only reason. Well anyways she is progressing so thats good.

Then dad one of the guys in our ward. well he was the 1st counciler. he has some heart problems with one of his heart chambers that wont dissolve something or something like that. thats how i understood it. But he has been taking this different kind of pills and everytime we go eat with him he shows us some new pills he got. and This past week he showed me usana! haha he told me that his sister that lives in utah sent it to him and how the products are really good! I told him how you work for usana and are a doctor. HE wants to know what he should take for his heart. His taking the fish oil from usana right now!

your questions dad. I havent been taking my usana everyday but im still taking it. My spanish has improved a ton actually! I can communicate just fine! It may not be 100 percent correct when i speak but they know what im saying. And i an understand almost everyone! Im excited when i speak spanish its awesome that im speaking another language! but still some days are hard with spanish. but its getting a whole lot better. and no i dont want you to correct my emails! haha

Our house we stay in is only my comp and I. We live on the top floor of some other peoples house. Its nice for mexico. We have water dont worry. No one drinks from the fossest. We buy the 20 liter of jugs of water. Theres always people selling them in the streets. the drive the street all day screaming what they sell. Its pretty annoying. for p days we just clean and then write our families then go buy food then have our district meeting! Pretty lame but its relaxing. my comp and i are like best friends. We always make fun of something or talked about our girlfriends or life. I can communicate everything i need to say to him. I tell him about my concerns and stuff so that good!

Welp guys til next week! I love you all. Please write me!!!!! 

And i get to call you guys in 3 sundays!! oh yeaH!! QUE CHIDO

Email Elder David McNamara at: David.McNamara@myldsmail.net

Week 20: Trust Your Instincts or Suffer the Consequences

Hey Fam!

Whats up? well this week was kinda bad haha good way to start a letter huh?... We had things planned out for everyday and lessons we had and all that but every single day we either get a text from the person saying that they couldnt do it. or we go to thier house and tell us they cant do it today or we go to their house and they are not there!! Its so frusterating and stupid. So we didnt really get a lot done this week. 

A TON of walking. Im used to it now. I dont get tired i just get so bored! haha so on wednesday all of our morning appointments fell through so we went to the comida and the lady that was supposed to feed us that day wasnt there..so we called her and said she was in tampico coming back. so we waited for her. She didnt want to cook so she bought us this grill chicken from a vender on the side of the street. Yeah..didnt look to good. 

So my companion and I go back to our house with the food and bless it and stuff. Then after we said the prayer I told my companion half joking half serious. I dont think this chicken is good for my body. It probably has a parasite! haha then my comp, told me that no dont worry about it! we blessed it and we`re missionaries. Dont worry!...okay okay. so i eat it and i only ate a little bit. I dont eat that much anymore here. It because im tired of mexican food every single day and its gross most of the time. haha SO i was feeling arlight the rest of the day. 

Then the next morning on thursday...oh gosh....I woke up at 6 in morning because i almost pooped my pants!! so i ran to the bathroom and boom..it was like a firehose of brown water that came out the other end! It was terrible. Then after 10 mintues of that. I layed back down for 5 minutes then i had to go again and this time i almost died in the bathroom. It was like niagra falls. i swear. So that lasted until 12 in the afternoon. I pooped about 5 liters of water. Then i called sister jordan to tell her and she told me that i have a parasite and that i have to get my poop check and tested for one. I didnt want to do that. Then after a little bit i started getting really cold when it was pretty hot outside and then i got the biggest headache of my life. I couldn`t even think it hurt so bad. 

So we went to the labortory to get some things so i could poop in a jar so they could test it. So we did that. I had to poop into 3 small jar things...dont ask me how i did it. it was the most digusting thing i have ever done it my life by far haha.. then we went back to our house and i was dying in my bed. With a fever and a the worst headache of my life. 

But while we were at the lab they wieghed me and guess how much i wiegh now? any guesses any guess? well before my mission i wieghed about 180 pounds then in the mtc i wieghed 190 haha i ate a ton in the MTC. But now i wiegh....165 pounds! I`ve lost about 25 pounds here in mexico. It because we walk a ton and i dont really eat here. The food here is good only sometimes. gross most of the time but i eat it anyways because i need to eat something. BUt yeah that why i look so skinny than i did before! Oh also on thursday i got pretty bad homesickness because i just layed in bed thinking about everything. I miss you guys so much! thank you for your emails! like always. 

Dad i wish i could have seen will ferrell with his suit! the picture was so funny! Hows your usuana buisness coming along? Are you still lifting those wieghts! I started working out last week just push up and sit ups and work out with this elastic band that i have! Mom thats awesome that you have 2 job interviews this week! Good luck! sounded like you had a good time in utah seeing the simmons and hanging out with the christensen! I wish that you still lived in utah too. utah is pretty awesome! 

Julie how are you doing? Im sorry that you have still have to have braces! thats okay that just means that you are going to have the most perfect teeth of the family! My bite is messed up too but hey..im in mexico haha. Are you liking driving the car? whats your favorite thing about it? Michael how are you doing? I miss you man! I miss all the funny times we had together making fun of things. We are teaching this less active member that is loaded out of his mind and he says the most ridiculous things sometimes. if you were here you would make fun of the things he says haha Brandon. whats up! what are you up too! Thanks for your dear elder. I got it last week. Thanks for your advice. I dont dream in spanish yet but im starting to think in spanish and i dont even notice it until after! Its pretty cool. Hows learning german? I love you all. 

Please ask me some questions that you have for me. Because i dont know what to write about sometimes! Well till next week...

Love

elder McNamara

p.s i dont have a parasito! haha

(From Dad, the doctor: It wouldn't be a parasite, but staph aureus bacteria that easily grows on chicken, that would cause David's symptoms.  Dehydration of that level is very serious.  Glad he is okay.)


Email Elder David McNamara at: David.McNamara@myldsmail.net

LDS Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Week 19: "General Conference About the Greatest Thing of My Life"

hey guys!!

Well this week was pretty good! Not a lot has happened to be honest haha  A LOT of walking. But I had a really good and cool experience and Tuesday. 

So we went to this families house for the comida. Which is the picture with the princess table haha but we ate and they have a little girl thats 5 years old. she is so cute and was asking us questions and stuff then i would ask her questions. The family is really less active but love the missionaries. then we are about to leave but the mom asks us to talk with the little girl about the life after this life. Because their grandma died in November and the little girl has been really sad about that and hasn´t been able to sleep at night because she thinks that her grandma is still suffering and in pain. And she has dreams that her mom and dad are dying and she is left all alone. 

The little girl explained all of that to us and then i pulled out the little card that has a picture of Jesus on that front when he is resurected. And i tell her that he loves her so much. then my companion explains the plan of salvation simply for her. Then her mom asked us to give her a blessing. So we go inside and sit her down and my companion and i put our hands on this little girls head. and my comp. gives the blessing. When he started i felt the spirit so strong and could feel the power of the priesthood throughout my whole body!! It almost made me cry because i could feel in my whole body the love christ has for the little girl and the comfort. 

And after the blessing the little girl turned around and had the biggest smile on her face and was so happy. then she said ¨Yo senti algo fuerte!¨which means..I felt somthing strong!.. That just hit me so hard. It was so amazing. I know that the Lord loves each one of us so much and wants us to be comforted and feel loved.

Well Conference was about the greatest thing of my life!!! I dont know if its because im a missionary or what but i ate it all up. I was so interested in everything that they said and i didnt even get tired! haha It was so awesome. To me the thing the most talked about was about christ and the atonement. And how the light of christ is in everyone and how christ can heal anybody no matter how deep the pain and bad the sin. And how christ wants to forgive us all we need to do is embrace the light and dont look at the dark. 

The lord knows that we will sin and mess up but we need to always have faith and believe in Christ. Through the atonement anything is posible and have hope through christ. The talk that hit me the hardest was probably Elder Hollands talk. If none of you saw that im telling you right now go watch it! He talked about how we need to hold on to our faith, no matter how little it is. And Hold on to what we know, stand strong.

Everybody has challenges in life and life is hard but we must walk by faith. Be patience, kind, and forgive others. ALWAYS remember what you do know and when you are having a hard time with anything pray and pour your heart out to god. Express you feelings and thoughts and challenges and ask for help. IT was amazing. 

In the conference there is deffinatley was the importance of the family..like always.. The greatest work we can do in this life is between the walls of our own homes and families. OH man i loved conference!!!! I loved when they talked about missionaries! because if you dont know...I am one! Thats me. 

Especially in priesthood they talked about missionaries and Thomas S. Monson talked about the prepreation before the mission. filling out the forms. recieving your mission call and then opening it with your family. (with the christensen and family on skype) and then the time from between opening and going to the MTC. Then droping off at the MTC. And then he said that ¨The Mission is not a personal thing, it a family experience¨ I about cried haha becuase i was remembering all those memories about opening the call and then preparing and then leaving then getting dropped off! I miss all you guys and love you so much!!

Okay some funny and strange things that i saw this week...Most of the wierd and gross things are with dogs. We always see dogs doing it about 3 times a day. We walk a corner and boom. haha and then when a dog pees then another dog comes and starts licking the pee..we see that about 5 times a day. We see a dead dog thats decaying on the side of the street about 2 times a week. The dogs here are freaking nasty. 

Another funny thing that happened was one night we went to visit with a menos activa and she has 2 little sons. so while we were talking to her outside her son that was 3 years comes running out and says I have to pee!!! in spanish and he runs out next to me and pulls down his pants and starts peeing into the street! hahah i was laughing so hard. 

The picture of the cows eating out of the dumpster. The cows here are like dogs..they wonder the street and do what the want. Even eating garbage haha

Well that was my week fam. I love you all!

Love David



Email Elder David McNamara at: David.McNamara@myldsmail.net

Week 18: Good Friday? Maybe Not For One Mexican

Hey guys!!

Well this week was pretty good! All your emails were about easter! and you know what? I totally forgot that it was easter haha because i guess they dont celebrate it. Well in a way i guess they do..its kinda wierd.

So on friday was "good friday" or whatever the catholics call it so what they do on that day is they walk the streets in a huge group like 100 to 200 people and at the front of the group 3 people carry a huge cross and they walk to different places where they say a little something about christ. Then on saturday..this is little messed up..they nail a guy to the cross and walk him along the streets. Im not kidding. they actually nail him to the cross in his hands. theyre not big nails but still. I guess the church asks for volunteers and if the person has a lot of sins or huge sin if he volunteers to be nailed to the cross his sins are forgiven. Which i think is prettty messed up...

Well on tuesday and wednesday it rained all day! I got pretty wet but i had my jacket so that was good! but still i got soaked! It was fun though. so on tuesday we had a lesson with Nora, the woman with the son on the mission, well we taught her haha i cant remember what we taught. that was forever ago. But we invited her to be baptized again! and guess what! She said yes for the 4 of May. It wasnt really a for sure yes but it was still a yes. IT was awesome. We can deffinatly see a slight change in her every time we visit with her. It cool to see how the gospel changes a person, not just in the inside but it also changes how the person looks on the outside. Like theres more light, the light of chrsit.

Then on wednesday we went on divisions. I went to a different area with another american again! haha im lucky i guess. It was good. we didnt really acomplish anything. All but 1 cita fell through. and the lesson we taught to that lady went good for us but for her.....she didnt understand us! haha i noticed half way through lesson one it looked like she couldnt understand us so i asked her slowley..puede entendernos? and she said no! haha it was bad. and the elder i was with was so awkward all day and in the lessons! He was so wierd. Im grateful for my comp.

Then on friday was pretty awesome! The whole morning and afternoon wasnt very good but at night we had a cita with some new investigators that my comp and the comp of elder awkward found! So we go and start talking. and then I started the lesson! I taught the first principle about Heavenly Father and then my comp with the 2nd then me and we switvhed back and forth! It went so good.

My spanish was the best it ever has been and the understood everything i taught. and they had some good questions that we answered. AH MAN! the spirit was so strong in that lesson. And we showed and taught the book of mormon and they seemed so intense in it. They said that they will read and pray about it! I think they´ll get baptized. i cant wait!

Then also on firday i got a letter from Elder Griffiths, my comp in the MTC. And i didnt expect to get a letter from him. but then i realized why....He went home! Its pretty sad and kinda hit me in a wierd way. I dont know. But in the letter it seems like that he isnt going to come back. Thats sad.

So today is the start of another 6 weeks! One transfer down...i dont know how many more. haha Then today my first real hair cut in Mexico! hahah its actually pretty good i think. I feel like Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button ha but they use a razor blade to cut the edges of your hair line. Its pretty cool!

Well anyways i hope your guys week goes well! I love and miss you all! Thank you for your emails. I love them!!

Love
David

the pics.

Top one is in the rain posing haha i dont know im wierd
Next is of our district last transfer!
3rd I found San Diego!!!!

Email Elder David McNamara at: David.McNamara@myldsmail.net

LDS Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints